Of Monsters and Wolves
by mermaidhotty
Summary: The big fight is going down at the prison. People are dead left and right. But Scott needs to save his mom. The emotions behind her fateful discovery of what has become of her son. A short story to explore the relationship that develops as a mother must accept that her son is no longer human. Heads up: It's almost required to have watched the show to understand a lot of the detail.
1. The Looks that Wound

Scott threw himself at the Kanima, yanking it off the bars of the prison cell. That was completely too close to his mom. All of this was too close to her. Why did she have to be here? With his arm muscles in overdrive the lizard like creature flipped over his shoulder and crashed into the ground. Derek picked himself up from behind the overturned desk, flung himself over it and charged the monster again. In a quick motion Scott turned his back to his mom and crouched low on the ground, his breathe coming out hard and ragged. His wolf instincts were in overdrive. This was his mom. He needed to protect her. Yellow eyes gazed around the room, looking for other threats.

He could clearly hear his mom behind him. She had moved closer to the bars, thinking the crazy threat she had just experienced was over. Her breathing was rushed and her heart beat was rapid. She was scared and Scott hated that.

"Scott?" He needed to get himself under control.

"Scotty, are you okay?" It came out in a desperate half-sob.

His heart skipped a beat. He was still in full on werewolf mode. His breathe caught in his throat.

"Scott?" The worry was there. He knew the thoughts running through her head. Why wasn't he responding? Why wouldn't he look at her? He had just been shot and yet there he was…how?

He let himself glance slightly over his shoulder to peak at her. This was the moment that had replayed in his mind over and over again. This was the day when she would find out about his curse. Did she already notice his strange, animal like stance as he knelt on the ground? Did she see how his ears pointed and the strange side burns that covered his jaw?

In an agony that seemed to stretch from his very core he began to turn around. Slowly he raised his yellow eyes to gaze at her. She had her hands wrapped tightly around the bars, sweat and tears were on her cheeks.

He knew the instant his inhumanity registered in her mind. Her eyes grew wider, short gasps escaped her throat, and her grip loosened on the bars. He watched an uncertainty grow in her eyes as they darted around his face, finally seeing the wolf like features.

Unable to stand it any longer he stood up from his crouch and faced her, fear written in his own eyes. A hollow pain hit his gut as she turned her face. She couldn't even look at him! Was she disgusted? Scott couldn't read her emotions. There was no way for him to know what was going through her mind.

Horror, he could see it now, that's what she was feeling. The hollow feeling in his stomach seemed to reach his heart as he watched his mom lift her hands to her mouth as she gasped. Slowly, she shook her head. "No!" It was a soft utterance, but so loud to him in more ways than one.

And then she sobbed. He could see her shaking; could almost smell her distress.

He was no longer her son. He was just as much a monster as the Kanima he was fighting to protect her from. As she backed farther into the dark corner of the cell his heart broke and shattered against his ribcage. He had to get out of there. There was no need for him to be here to protect his mom when he couldn't even protect her from himself.

He let his head drop in shame and painful sadness. Emotions of longing for when he was normal, and the realization that his mom would never look at him as her little boy again, filled his mind. A deep sadness filled all that he was. In defeat he turned from his mom and raced out of the room.


	2. Unfamiliar Spaces

Scott hung back, covered in shadow just within the tree line near his house. The lights were on inside. Stiles had told him his dad had taken Melissa home as the three of them had left the police station. Apparently all of them had been way too rattled to talk. Stiles was just afraid that he was going to give away something. He knew Scott's mom now knew her son's secret, or part of it. But his dad didn't. He'd still been out cold for that part.

Staying in the tree line, Scott watched the lights go out from the bottom floor on up until only the light in his mom's room was on. He should go in. They needed to talk. But would she be willing? Then her light went off. He stared down at his scuffed shoes. They were starting to get thread bare from where his claws would rub against them.

Frustration swelled in his chest. Maybe it was best if he just hung out at stiles for the night. Defeated and heartbroken he brought out his wolf and ran through the night. If he could work off at least some of his desperation, maybe he would be able to find a way to sleep. He could hear his mom's muffled sobs with his inhuman hearing as he ran away from his home.

Melissa sat on the couch in the living room. She couldn't bring herself to move. She had just gotten home. But she didn't feel the warmth the familiar place had never before failed to bring her. This used to be a sanctuary. But now… now her son…

She rubbed her hands over her face, her curls falling around her shoulders in a frizzy and dirty mess. She didn't want to think right now. She didn't want to face this new and unpredictable reality she had been dumped in.

Her son was some sort of creature; a monster. What was he? Her mind unwillingly flashed back to the look on his face after he saved her from that horrid lizard mutant thing. Pointed ears, long sideburns. Horrid, glowing, yellow eyes. And fangs. His whole face was transformed and distorted into something inhuman that mocked what used to be her son.

How had this happened to him? There had been a similar creature like him, the one that looked remarkably like Derek Hale. What were they? Her mind kept going back to mythology and horror stories: Werewolves. Her son was a werewolf? She shook her head violently. It couldn't be true. A sad sob escaped her throat as she burst into tears once more. She didn't know how long she cried and mourned, but eventually her throat was haggard, her eyes puffy and soar. And she couldn't sit there, in this once familiar setting anymore.

With feat weighing like lead she dragged herself upstairs, turning off the blazing lights as she went. She hit an invisible wall as she came to Scott's room. His bead was unmade and sheets were hazardously lying on the floor. His laundry basket was over flowing and his lacrosse stick leaned against his closet doors. Melissa collapsed to her knees. Would he come back? Would it be safe for him to come back? Would she be able to live in the same house as…as a monster?

It took more strength than lifting a thousand pounds to pull herself to her feat. Without a glance back she walked to her room and quietly shut her door. Her bed was made and everything was in its proper place.

She kicked off her shoes, threw off her clothes, and collapsed on top of her blanket. Her body ached and her mind was shutting down. Before clarity could come back, she turned off her emotions and let her mind go black as she slid into unconsciousness.


	3. Silences

Stiles stared at his best friend as he moped in the corner of his room. He was trying to avoid the moonlight that was streaming through his window. It wasn't a full moon, but close enough that Scott was feeling itchy in his skin. Tomorrow was going to a rough day and he just wanted to calm down.

Scott banged his head against the wall.

"Hey!" Stiles glared at him. "I don't need holes to fix in my wall, thanks."

"Sorry," Scott muttered. He focused instead on his claws and picking dirt out from underneath them. He was too agitated to make them retract.

"You know, you should probably go home. You can't avoid your Mom forever." Stiles shut his laptop. Silence was his reply. He looked over at Scott who was gazing up at the window.

"How do you know she even wants me back?" He could feel his eyes glowing. He let a soft growl come out of his throat.

"Come on man. She's your mom. She's gonna get over it."

"Stiles! This isn't something to get over. I'm a monster! And the way she looked at me proved it!" He stood up and began pacing.

A heavy silence fell in the room. It stretched until Scott finally sat on the edge of the bed and hung his head in his clawed hands.

The human teenager watched his best friend deal with something he had never been taught to deal with. It was unfair. He just couldn't stand the thought of the werewolf losing his mom. He knew that pain was far worse.

"What if she's in danger?" Stiles tapped his pencil on his desk until Scott finally looked up at him, glaring. "The Kanima is still out there. Worse yet, it's got a new master who has it out for you." He got up and walked over until he stood in front of his best friend. "It's going to be awkward and hard, but your Mom needs you. It would be worse of you to abandon her right now."

Scott didn't respond. Slowly Stiles watched his friend reign in the wolf until a seemingly normal human sat in front of him.

"You're right." It was a defeated whisper. "I just hope she doesn't try to hit me with the baseball bat."

Melissa hadn't seen Scott for at least a good 36 hours at this point. But who was counting? Every time she heard a floor board squeak, she would race to his room to see if he was there. But nothing. She had called in sick to the hospital, telling them she would be back in a week. She was hoping by then she would have all of this processed. But the idea of her son being a…

Well, she just wasn't able to think about it long enough without horrible thoughts coming to mind. So she had spent her time cleaning. Melissa couldn't remember the last time her house hand been so immaculate. But it still wasn't welcoming. Her son's things weren't thrown about and there was no smell of dirty socks to permeate the air.

She missed him. But could she face him?

Night finally came. It had now been two nights since she had seen what Scott had become. Two long agonizing days as well where she hadn't talked to him or been able to ask him what was going on with Allison.

Goodness, she missed her son. She sat on her bead, her usual scrubs on. They made great PJs, not just work clothes. A sudden noise from down the hall caught her attention. It was a slight sound, like the window being pulled up. Was it Scott?

Quietly she opened her bedroom door and walked down to his room.


	4. After the War is Over

Scott walked up to the front door. It was unlocked, a fact that made him nervous but give an inward sigh of relief. At least his mom wasn't locking him out. He pushed the door open and listened for any noise from inside. A smell of bleach hit his nose. Crap. His mom had been cleaning. That meant she had either lost her job or was in complete denial.

He was going with the last option.

Not hearing anything he went inside. Maybe she was asleep? He enhanced his hearing and listened closer. No, he could definitely hear something. Being as quiet as possible he walked toward the stairs. There, he could hear her breathing. But it was off. It was hitched and raspy. And muffled. And there was a deeper sound behind it: the sound of clicking, like claws on the floor.

The Kanima! He raced up the stairs, taking them three at a time and stopped outside his room. The door was closed, but he knew his mom was in there.

He threw the door open and wanted to scream in rage. His mom was up in the corner of the ceiling, and the Kanima had its tail wrapped around her throat as it gripped to his walls.

"Mom!" The only thing that kept him from letting out his werewolf side was the fact that it would only serve to freak out his mom even more.

"I wouldn't go near her if I were you." Gerard stepped towards him. He had been hiding behind his door.

Scott growled inwardly.

"Now, if you want your mom safe and sound you are going to do exactly what I say."

Gerard and the Kanima left, leaving his mom to collapse to the floor in a panic. She sobbed and gasped, rubbing her throat where the scaly tail had held her.

Scott knelt down next to her, trying to get her attention, but unwilling to say anything.

"I don't know what's going on Scott." Her voice was sore.

In turn Scott looked away in shame.

"I don't know what that thing was. I don't know what you are." She paused and looked toward him. "Just do what he wants. Please, just do what he wants."

Scott lay on his bed, his arm draped over his eyes. Allison had just broken up with him, Gerard was missing, and Jackson was no longer the Kanima but a new werewolf. Things were going to be different from here on out, he just didn't know how. His mom had thrown herself into her work and he had hardly seen her. There had been a few moments when they would bump paths in the hall. But she would barely look at him, and her smile never seemed to reach her eyes.

He had tried to bring the subject up to her one morning at breakfast, but she had made some excuse about how she was running late and then had dashed out the door.

He let out a small growl as he heard his window slide up. "Not now, Stiles."

"Uh, not Stiles."

He jumped up as Isaac crawled into his room. He stared up at the guy who wasn't exactly a friend but wasn't an enemy anymore either.

"What are you doing here?" Scott was suspicious.

"Derek just wanted to see how everything was going. To see how you were doing." Isaac sat himself down at the top of his bed.

"Really? He wants to know how I'm doing?" He looked away. "Well, you can tell him I'm not part of his pack. So he shouldn't care." Scott stared down at his hands. He pictured for a moment what it was like to hold Allison's hand for the last time.

"So maybe it wasn't him that asked." Isaac rubbed a hand through his hair.

"And why would you care?" Scott finally looked up at him.

The Lahey kid looked around the room. "I've been thinking about what happened at the Vets. And what Derek has been doing." He went back towards the window. "Maybe I'm just confused about my role in everything. Just wanted to make sure you weren't doing anything crazy." And then he left.

Scott shook his head. Were they friends? He heard the front door open downstairs and his mom come in. "Groceries!" She yelled up to him.

Gladly he left his room and rushed down the staircase to help her. He came back inside the house with three times the load she had been able to manage. "I've got it all." He set it down on the counter.

"Thanks. Do mind locking the car for me?" His mom handed him the keys and barely met his gaze.

He nodded and walked outside, doing one final check for any stray bags in the back seat, locked the car and shut the door behind him as he went back inside.

In the kitchen Melissa was just standing at the counter, staring at the open bag in front of her.

"Mom?"

"I bought steak for dinner tonight." She actually looked up at him. "I don't know how you want yours though."

He smiled. "I would like it cooked, if that's what you mean."

She shook her head, exasperated. "How am I supposed to know?" She stared him in the eyes. "Scott, I don't know what to do here!" A tear rolled down her cheek.

Walking over to Melissa, he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I swear Scott, if you start acting like a puppy…"

"Hey!" He backed up and she gave a little laugh.

"We do need to talk about this." She handed him the meat. "Let's get this all put away first."

He stared at it and felt his stomach growl, and his eyes flashed gold. He looked over at his mom and she was staring at his face intently.

"Sorry," he muttered, and put the meat in the fridge.

"It's…okay." She handed the next item and they continued in an only slightly awkward silence.


	5. From the Ground Up

It was the night of the full moon. Had it already been a month? Yes, yes it had. And probably one of the most awkward months of his life.

School was painful to go to. But his mom wouldn't let him stay home. Scott was convinced that she was trying to act as if everything was absolutely normal and that nothing had changed. At least she would smile at him in the mornings now.

He was currently sitting at the kitchen table, struggling with his math homework. He couldn't concentrate! He shook his head and growled slightly. It was something he had noticed lately. The closer it was to the full moon, the more anxious he was. The more distracted he would get by the littlest of things. And those closest to him could tell. His mom had made a run to the store to get some meat for dinner. He had learned that the more meat he consumed, the easier it was to keep his wolf under control. So she insisted that he eat more of it. He didn't mind, he just didn't like the way she would watch him when he would eat.

Stiles was still trying to decide if the full moon was going to be safe for him tomorrow night. They still hadn't been able to find Gerard. Scott had tried to talk to Allison about it, but it was hard to talk to her. Her smile was always forced. And he was always scared her dad would find out he was trying to talk to her. Lydia and Jackson were glued to each other's side. Ironically, he seemed to follow her around like a puppy dog. Allison had filled Lydia in on everything. All of it. Scott knew the day she found out he was a werewolf. She had these big, wide eyes every time she would catch sight of him. But she still ignored Stiles.

In agitation he shook his head and tried once again to complete the math problem.

Thirty minutes and two math problems later he heard his mom pull up in the car.

"Scott!" She had learned very quickly exactly how good his hearing was now. There was no more faking that he couldn't hear her. It was kind of drag, actually.

He pushed his chair back and threw his pencil across the table. Might as well go and help since he couldn't seem to be able to get anything done in here. He walked outside and grabbed the bags from his mom's arms.

"Thanks. There are more in the car once you take that in." Melissa walked behind him and Scott rolled his eyes.

Dinner rolled around. Melissa placed the meatloaf on the table and they both dug in. Scott was trying to be careful to not eat too quickly or too much.

"How was school today?"

He shrugged.

"Did you go to lacrosse practice?"

He nodded.

"And how was the Zombie Invasion?"

He shrugged again.

Melissa threw a roll at him.

"Hey!" Scott looked up, unable to keep his eyes from going gold.

"Do you mind actually talking to me or do I have to keep doing this one sided conversation thing?" Melissa put down her fork and stared at his eyes.

"Sorry." Scott blinked a few times, but he knew his eyes weren't changing back to their usual, dull, human color.

Melissa continued to stare. "There's a full moon tomorrow, right?"

Scott groaned inwardly and nodded. "I'm trying to keep it together."

"You can talk to me about it," Melissa paused, "if you want to." She reached over and touched is animal like sideburn.

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it." He shoved another forkful of meatloaf in his mouth, pulling slightly away from his mom's hand.

"Maybe I just didn't know how to talk about it. This isn't something I know how to address. What mom is prepared to talk to their son about growing up as a werewolf?"

Scott smiled a little and could finally feel his face go back to normal. "Trust me. I didn't plan on getting any sort of 'How to behave like a proper Werewolf on a date' talk from you either." He let out a little laugh.

Melissa smiled. "Maybe we could start off with you telling me how it happened. Stiles filled some of the detail in, about Peter and Derek. But I want to know what it was like for you."

He nodded. "Can we finish eating first?"

His mom nodded back. "That sounds like a good idea."

This time as the silence fell, it wasn't nearly as awkward as it had been since the last full moon.


	6. Scratching to Get Out

Scott and Melissa sat on the couch, turned to face each other slightly. Scott was struggling to keep his hands on his lap. He was feeling agitated, and his claws simply wouldn't retract. He knew that his mom would kill him if he got claw marks on the cushions.

"So, where do you want me to start?" He was trying to avoid his mom's brown eyes.

Melissa reached out and put a comforting hand on his arm. "Stiles mentioned you were bit in the woods one night."

Scott nodded. "Yeah. It was a stupid decision. Stiles snuck over one night saying how he heard on his dad's police scanner that they had found half a body in the woods. We just wanted to check it out. His dad showed up while we were there. I hid behind a tree and Stiles covered for me so we both didn't get in trouble. I went exploring and these deer came running out of nowhere and almost trampled me. The next parts blurry, but I remember this giant creature with saliva dripping teeth running at me. He actually caught hold of my leg at one point and dragged me along the ground. Then it bit my side and just left." He glanced over at his mom. She was rubbing his arm, trying to encourage him to continue. "I didn't understand why I was still alive; why the creature didn't finish me off."

"You found out later it was Peter, right?" Melissa still couldn't believe that she had almost fallen for that killer.

Nodding back, Scott leaned back against the couch. "Yeah. Stiles was the one who figured it out. He's good at that. He knew I was a werewolf before I even really realized there was something wrong with me." He looked over at Melissa. "Remember that night I went to the party with Allison? The first time I asked her on a date?"

Melissa nodded. She remembered how nervous and excited he had been.

"That was the night I found out I really was a werewolf." Scott pictured in his mind how the day had gone as he started telling his mom the story of his transformation. "I had been over at Stiles' house after school. He had been researching lycanthropy on his computer. I guess my odd behavior and amazing skills at lacrosse had made him suspicious that something really was going on with me. He tried to convince me I couldn't go to the party because it was a full moon that night and I would turn into a raving monster. He actually tried to call Allison and cancel. I nearly attacked him. Already my rage was rising." He rubbed a hand through his thick hair as he continued. "Everything was amazing for the first part of the party. Allison and I danced. Even Stiles seemed to be having a good time. I did see Derek there at one point. It was odd but I didn't really have time to think about it. We'd only been there for an hour when I was hit with this pounding headache. My stomach started rolling and I knew I had to get out of there before I got really sick."

He sat forward on the couch. The next part was hard to talk about. Melissa placed a warm hand on his back. He tensed a little. His wolf was so close to the surface. But she was pack and he relaxed into her comforting gesture.

"I came home and headed for the bathroom, thinking a cool shower would help me feel better. I felt like I was burning up inside. You had already gone off to work for the night. And I'm glad too. I don't know what would have happened if you had been there when I first started to transform. I climbed in the tub with my pants still on, just wanting fast relief. My head began swimming and I felt like someone was taking a huge sledge hammer to it. Then my hands started throbbing and I felt a piercing pain at the top of my fingers." He stared down at his claws. They were clean and deadly looking. "I watched in horrible fascination as my fingernails darkened and then grew into long sharp points. I had animal claws. I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach then. I knew Stiles had been right. And I knew I should have taken him seriously when he said I had a serious problem."

His mom reached for his hands. He let her take one and she inspected how they were now different. She could feel that the skin was thicker than normal on his palm and fingers. She guessed they were padded for running, but still sensitive. She touched one of his claws. They were hard and sharp. Perfect for defense. Or offense.

Scott continued. "I jumped out of the tub and rushed into the bathroom. There was steam on the mirror and I wiped some of it away. My mouth had started aching and my teeth felt strange as I ran my tongue over them. I grimaced in the mirror and was horrified to see my canines sharp and protruding. I opened my mouth slightly wider to realize how animalistic that looked. Then I saw my eyes." He looked over at his mom. "They were glowing bright golden yellow. Not human at all – just wolf." He knew they were glowing that way now.

"It was then that Stiles pounded on my bedroom door. He wanted me to let him in. He knew what was going in. I asked him to go find Allison. I had a theory that Derrick was the werewolf that bit me. Stiles told me that he saw Allison get a ride home with him after I had left the party. It was strange. It was like after he told me that, I just lost control. I had to get to her and protect her. It was this over-riding instinct and nothing was going to stop me. I jumped out of my room window to get out of the house, a two story fall. But I landed on all fours. My transformation finished as I hit the ground. I got hairier, my ears got pointier. Within seconds I was a full blown werewolf." He sat up straighter on the couch. "And I guess the rest is history." He looked out the window at the nearly full moon.

Melissa was quite for a while. She was thinking about how scared Scott must have been when it all happened. How anxious and uncertain. How he had all of this on top of normal teenager problems. She wished he had been able to tell her. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized he couldn't have. She was barely able to accept it after he had already had a year to get used to what he was. How would she have taken it when he didn't even fully understand what he was? At least now he had answers for her. Now he could help her work through it. And she would learn how to be there for him. She was going to help him to continue to get through this.

"So, tomorrow…" She trailed off.

"Tomorrow I won't be able to control it. Derrick was teaching me how to have more self-control. But with this whole thing with the Kanima there hasn't been time. Isaac and I are going out to the woods tomorrow to be safe."

"Are you going to be able to go to school?" She looked at him concerned. He definitely wouldn't be able to go if he looked the same way in the morning as he did now.

Scott nodded. "Yeah. I just need sleep and I'll be fine. I'll have to skip Lacrosse practice. Too much aggression involved. I'll just end up attacking someone."

Melissa gulped. "Isn't there something Stiles and I can do so you don't have to spend the night running around like an animal among the trees?"

The statement made Scott stiffen. He stared at his mom. "But I am an animal." He stated it simply and firmly.

He watched his mom shake her head. "Don't you say such a thing! You are not an animal."

Scott jumped up from the couch, faster than Melissa was prepared for and it made her gasp.

"You don't understand. I am an animal. I may not be a monster or a killer, but I am definitely more animal than human. I smell things and see things and hear things that only wolves can. I have instincts that they do. Around the full moon I start thinking of my friends and you and Stiles as pack members rather than family. I run faster on all fours than on two." He stared down at his claws and hairy arms. "You can't deny it. And tomorrow I have to keep you safe. If that means a night of discomfort running around and growling at things, then I'll take it."

Melissa stood up and walked over to him. "There's got to be some other solution. Haven't you and Stiles tried other things? Can't I help?"

Scott shook his head. "He chained me to the heater once. I escaped. Allison locked me in a floor freezer. But I escaped that too. You'll have to trust me on that one." He stepped back from his mom and toward the stairs. "I have to head to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Before Melissa had the chance to argue more he was up the stairs three at a time.

Melissa stood by the couch, her arms crossed over her chest. She sighed. She was going to talk to Stiles in the morning. There had to be something she could do to help Scott. She was not going to let him spend the night in the woods.


	7. Preparations

Scott stared at the chalkboard at the front of the classroom, not really seeing anything that the teacher had written up. He was more focused on the gnawing feeling under his skin. All his concentration was going into keeping his werewolf side in check. Stiles was keeping a constant eye on him, quick to tell him if any part of him didn't look human. Allison was keeping her distance, not sure if her presence was helping or provoking. Plus, she wasn't really sure what their relationship status was right now.

Suddenly Stiles was nudging Scott. "Hey, dude. That was the last bell."

Scott jerked slightly, his eyes quickly flashing yellow. "I don't think I'll be able to do Lacrosse practice." He slung his back pack over his shoulder. "I don't know what it is, but I'm not as in control this full moon."

Stiles looked him over. "Maybe it's all the stress with the Kanima and your mom?"

Shrugging, Scott stared down the hallway. "Who knows? Are you still on to help Isaac and me out tonight?"

Stiles gave a nervous laugh. "Of course. Who wouldn't be happy and ready to help two adolescent werewolves not kill anyone while they run crazy through the woods?"

Scott rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder.

Lydia sat on the benches at the side of the Lacrosse field. Her eyes were on Jackson. He had promised her he was in control of his werewolf side. But he way he almost menacingly stared at his team mates made her believe otherwise. She had tried to get him to tell her what he was doing for the full moon, but he wouldn't say anything. It was frustrating, and as far as she could tell Scott and Stiles didn't know either.

Coach Finstock blew his whistle and she saw Jackson flinch. Yeah, his senses were totally on overdrive right now. Soon there were shoulders slamming and grass flying on the field. Within half an hour she was bored. It was time to go find Allison, what with their boys being out of commission for the night, they were going to have some much needed girl time.

Allison sat on her bed, knees tucked under her chin, staring at nothing really. Her thoughts were drifting over Scott. Over and over again. She didn't know how to do it, but she knew she needed to break up with him. Her dad was going to threaten his life again if she didn't do something. It didn't matter to him that he had just saved their lives again - he was a werewolf. And she was an Argent. End of discussion. But tonight wasn't the night to do it. She had convinced her dad to at least give her until after the full moon. He already had so much going on and he didn't need her breaking up with him on top of everything. A quiet knock came at her door. She looked up as her dad walked in.

"Hey." She gave him a small smile.

He gave a half smile back. "I just wanted to come in and see what the plans were for tonight."

"Lydia and I are going to spend the night here. You know, watch a couple chick flicks, and eat some junk food. Nothing too crazy." She rolled her eyes. "Oh, or did you mean about Scott?"

Mr. Argent folded his arms across his chest. "I just want to make sure I'm not going to have to take drastic action tonight."

"Stiles assured me that he's got it all figured out. I think he knows how to handle himself by now." Allison looked back down at her toes. An uncomfortable silence fell in the room.

"Look, Allison, I know this isn't easy." Her dad sat down on the bed and she looked up at him. She thought she almost saw regret in his eyes. "But you must know that it could never work between the two of you." He put a hand on her knee. "I wish he wasn't what he is, but we can't change that. And you can't change who you're supposed to grow up to be."

A knock on the door downstairs drew his attention away.

"That's probably Lydia," Allison spoke softly. Her dad had only told her the things she had been thinking in her head for the last hour.

Mr. Argent nodded and then left to go let Lydia in.

Isaac ran ahead of Scott, simply stretching his legs – and arms. Scott let a lopsided smile cross his face as he chased after the other lycanthrope. They were both trying to get rid of the pent up energy that had been building inside of them all day. Scott let out a little howl as he passed Isaac, whipping by the trees and underbrush as they ran through the woods. It had gotten colder outside as fall had set in. There wouldn't be any more campers in the woods, at least not any sane ones, for the next five months. They had no fears that anyone would see them. At least no one human.

"So are we really going to do this all night?" Isaac yelled up ahead at Scott.

Scott slowed a little so they were running side by side. "Well, you can't stand confined spaces, and I can't be kept tied up. I couldn't think of anything else. Besides, Stiles knows where we are. If we go haywire, he's got ways to stop us."

Isaac gave him a confused look. "Why can't we just go to Derrick?"

"And also go to Peter at the same time? No thanks. I would prefer to avoid him for as long as we can."

"Okay, I still don't believe he's as bad as you say he is." Isaac surged forward and soon Scott was chasing after him.

"Scott?" Stiles burst through the McCall front door.

"Uh, hi Stiles. You do remember that we have a doorbell, right?" Melissa stepped out of the kitchen and gave the adolescent a pointed look.

"Heh, uh, sorry Miss McCall. Is Scott upstairs?"

Melissa shook her head. "No, I actually haven't seen him since he left for school this morning. I assumed he was sitting on the bench at lacrosse practice."

Stiles shook his head. "I just came from there and he was nowhere I looked."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he and Isaac are already, you know, getting ready."

Scratching his chin, Stiles tilted his head from side to side contemplatively. "They both were really on edge in class. They're probably just running it off. I'm supposed to meet them a mile south of Derrick's house in a couple hours."

There was a slight pause.

Melissa put a hand on Stiles shoulder. "Are you really going to let your best friend spend the night in the woods, running rampant?"

Stiles slumped a little and sighed. "I don't know what else to do. He doesn't want to go to Derrick for help again in fear of Peter, and nothing we have tried before has worked." He looked down at the duffle bag he'd put on the ground when he first came in. "I'm always open to suggestions."

"Well, there was one idea I had while I was at work today." She held up her work badge. "There's a part of the hospital that's under construction at the moment. No one will be down there tonight. But one of the parts is the old morgue."

Stiles gave her a funny look.

"Think about it. It's still in working order. The temperature then is at about 30 degrees fahrenheit and the doors can be reinforced so that they can't break out. They'll be slowed down by the cold air and it should keep them calmer."

Melissa watched Stiles run the thought through his head a few times. "Are you sure that no one is going to see them or ask any questions?"

She nodded. "It'll just be them down there."

Stiles nodded. "It should work perfectly them. I'll go try to find them and get them on board. We'll meet you at the hospital just before sun down."

Melissa nodded and shut the front door behind him as he left to go find her werewolf son.


End file.
